Abstract

In March 2012, PepsiCo, the America-based Food and Beverages company, quietly removed the ‘SnackSmart’ labels from its food products and changed its cooking medium back to low cost palmolein from rice bran oil. Health activists opposed this move, which raised health concerns among consumers. The case also shows how the company promoted its products and why it changed the product ingredients. It raised ethical concerns about product communication and the promotion of the product.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Discuss how PepsiCo promoted its snack products to increase market share.
• Understand and discuss the ethical issues in product communication.

Keywords

PepsiCo, Frito-lay, Cost, Ethics, Product communication, Label, Snacks, Healthy, Food and Beverage, Market Share, Promotion, Advertisement, Ethical advertisement, Strategy